disturbing events; also he needed
to take the detonite pistol from Kreiss' hand and jam it into his own
hand. His eyes, at Chet's unconscious exclamation, had come with instant
suspicion toward the two men.

"Forty-seven hours, Walt," the pilot said, and repeated it loudly for
Schwartzmann's benefit; "--forty-seven hours before we return to this
spot. We are driving out into space; we've crossed the orbit of the Dark
Moon, and we're doing twenty thousand miles an hour.

"Now we must decelerate. It will take twenty hours to check us to zero
speed; then twenty-seven more to shoot us back to this same point in
space, allowing, of course, for a second deceleration. The same figuring
with only slight variation will cover a return to the Dark Moon. As we
sweep out I can allow for the moon-motion, and we'll hit it at a safe
landing speed on the return trip this time."

* * * * *

Chet was paying little attention to his companion as he spoke. His eyes,
instead, were covertly watching the bulky figure of Schwartzmann. As he
finished, their captor shot a volley of questions at the scientist
beside him; he was checking up on the pilot's remarks.

Chet was leaning forward to stare intently from a lookout, his head was
close to that of Harkness.

"Listen, Walt," he whispered; "the Moon's out of sight; it's easy to
lose. Maybe I can't find it again, anyway--it's going to take some nice
navigating--but I'll miss it by ten thousand miles if you say so, and
even the Herr Doktor can't check me on it."

Chet saw the eyes of Schwartzmann grow intent. He reached ostentatiously
for another book of tables, and he seated himself that he might figure
in comfort.

"Just check me on this," he told Harkness.

He put down meaningless figures, while the man beside him remained
silent. Over and over he wrote them--would Harkness never reach a
decision?--over and over, until--

"I don't agree with that," Harkness told him and reached for the stylus
in Chet's hand. And, while he appeared to make his own swift
computations, there were words instead of figures that flowed from his
pen.

"Only alternative: return to Earth," he wrote. "Then S will hold off;
wait in upper levels. Kreiss will give him new bearings. We'll shoot out
again and do it better next time. Kreiss is nobody's fool. S means to
maroon us on Moon--kill us perhaps. He'll get us there, sure. We might
as well go now."

* * *